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VicWater Director Development Program

VicWater Director Development Program

Deepen your knowledge and strengthen your strategic leadership and governance skills to create a legacy of healthy and sustainable water systems and communities.

As the Victorian water and catchment management sector responds to economic, environmental, and social challenges, Directors have an important role to play.

The VicWater Director Development Program introduces tools and ways of thinking to deepen your knowledge and strengthen your strategic leadership and governance skills to create a legacy of healthy and sustainable water systems and communities.

New ways of thinking

Explore ways of thinking that support collaborative and future-focused decision making. These skills will help you to support and influence your organisation to create a legacy of healthy and sustainable water systems and communities.

Practical and interactive

Bring your experience into the conversations, share your stories, and learn from your peers in a supportive environment. We use case studies, research and invited industry experts to develop your capacity to identify and address the challenges and opportunities of the sector.

Who is it for?

This program is designed for new Directors of Victorian Water Corporations and Catchment Management Authorities.

This program will help you to:

Build knowledge of emerging and complex issues facing the sector.
Strengthen mindsets that challenge convention and recast risk as an opportunity.
Develop a strategic leadership approach that is adaptive, purpose-driven, ethical, strategic and inclusive that meets the environmental, social and economic needs of our time.
Create cross-organisational networks that will help you to achieve your vision and shared goals.

Structure

The program complements AICD and DELWP Director Development Programs and comprises two training streams: Contemporary Issues and Future Focus.

Contemporary Issues focuses on sector specific governance, and the emerging risks, opportunities and needs of the water sector, including how the public sector is different to other sectors.

Future Focus focuses on being able to adapt and respond to opportunities and challenges, such as partnering with Traditional Owners, climate change and environmental stewardship.

Explore modules below to see what's involved in each.

Participants are required to complete all modules within each stream. You can do either or both streams, but will obtain the full benefit by completing both.

Contemporary Issues

Offered in two formats:

8-week learning program (online) comprising:

introductory webinar
six weekly modules sessions (2 hour module + 1 hour background reading per week)
action-oriented self reflection (self-paced over 1 week).

3-week intensive learning program comprising:

introductory webinar (online)
background reading (up to 6 hours self-paced over 2 weeks)
2-day interactive workshop in Melbourne CBD covering all 6 modules (in-person)
action-oriented self-reflection (self-paced over 1 week).

Future Focus

8-week learning program (hybrid: online or in-person) comprising:

introductory webinar (online)
weekly modules sessions (2 hour module + 1 hour background reading per week) (online or in-person)
action-oriented self reflection (self-paced over 1 week).

Module 1: Governance & Strategy

Learn about the water and catchment management sector governance history, key institutions and instruments and the policy origins and intent of current governance settings, public value as a concept and the changing demands of strategic planning.

Module 2: Compliance & Regulation

Explore compliance perspectives from regulators, directors and policy stakeholders; risk versus public value creation; balancing current compliance with future goals.

Module 3: Finances

Understand the nature of water sector revenues and expenditures, the pricing of services and the funding and financing of infrastructure. Learn about new frameworks and approaches for valuing water services.

Module 4: Emerging Risks & Opportunities

Learn about risk as a complex systems issue, dealing with uncertainty and disruption, creating value from addressing risk.

Module 5: Role of Engagement

Understand the role of engagement in guiding services and creating an authorising environment for service delivery and innovation.

Module 6: Leadership & Influence

Explore opportunities and tools to engage in leadership to drive positive change in the water sector to address complex issues.

Module 1: Future of the Water and Catchment Management Association sectors

Learn about the water sector history as a continuum of change; the drivers involved and the responses or capacities required by water sector institutions to adapt to the future.

Module 2: Traditional Owners

Learn about the importance of Indigenous sovereignty, water rights, and peoples as part of water governance frameworks and how to ensure the inclusion of Traditional Owners’ perspectives on these matters.

Module 3: Climate Change

Examine the implications of climate change for water systems and the ways water system services can adapt to support thriving communities and how to drive a Net Zero strategy in the water sector.

Module 4: Environmental Stewardship

Understand the connection between the Sustainable Development Goals and the water sector, and about key and emerging environmental challenges.

Module 5: Diversity & Inclusion

Understand the importance of creating an inclusive organisational culture that embraces diversity and how to ensure that access to and the benefits of water services are shared by all.

Module 6: Governing the Sector of Tomorrow

Understand the issues of water justice and ethics. Explore national and global trends in water systems governance. Synthesis of learnings from all modules.

Details

Program dates, times and investment

Our courses for 2022 are listed below. These will be offered again in 2023 (dates to be advised).

Prices listed are for one full registration in the selected package and covers the package's full curriculum (ie. all 6 modules in selected package). An early bird discount of 10% is available for fully paid registrations received at least one month prior to the scheduled course commencement date.

Contemporary Issues Course

Format	Duration	Available dates	Investment
Online	8 week package	2 August – 20 September	$2400 +GST
Session Details	Time	Date
Introduction webinar	12:00-13:00	Tuesday 2 August
Module 1	12:00-14:00	Tuesday 9 August
Module 2	12:00-14:00	Tuesday 16 August
Module 3	12:00-14:00	Tuesday 23 August
Module 4	12:00-14:00	Tuesday 30 August
Module 5	12:00-14:00	Tuesday 6 September
Module 6	12:00-14:00	Tuesday 20 September

Future Focus Course

Format	Duration	Available dates	Investment
Hybrid (either in person or online)	8 week package	3 October – 9 December	$2400 +GST
Session Details	Time	Date
Introduction webinar	12:00-13:00	Tuesday 11 October
Module 1	12:00-14:00	Tuesday 18 October
Module 2	12:00-14:00	Tuesday 25 October
Module 3	12:00-14:00	Tuesday 8 November
Module 4	12:00-14:00	Tuesday 15 November
Module 5	12:00-14:00	Tuesday 22 November
Module 6	12:00-14:00	Tuesday 29 November

Core teaching staff

Expert contributors

Our industry experts include:

Professor John Thwaites – Board Chair, Melbourne Water Corporation

Cheryl Batagol – Director, Fishermans Bend Development Board

Professor Rob Skinner – Director, Yarra Valley Water

Dr Jane Doolan – Director, Southern Rural Water

Dr Ron Ben-David – Director, Climateworks Centre

Jo Plummer – Board Chair, VicWater

Questions? Get in touch today Email.

Monash Sustainable Development Institute